Production at the Hall's of Broxburn plant in West Lothian will come to an end later today.

In July 2012 Dutch food giant VION announced its plan to close the plant in Broxburn with the loss of 1,100 full-time and 600 agency jobs.

Last December, Finance Secretary John Swinney announced a £29 million economic development package to support workers and the community affected by the closure.

The group's UK subsidiary VION Foods UK rejected two offers made for the plant last October, stating it had “been forced to conclude that neither of these proposals constitutes a viable and sustainable alternative to the proposed closure of the plant”.

VION UK chairman Peter Barr said at the time: “In neither instance were we assured that either offer provided a guarantee of ongoing employment for the workforce, in spite of the fact that VION was prepared to offer substantial financial assistance to support the acquisition.

“This is a very sad day for the company but, unfortunately, the plant continues to suffer unsustainable losses of £79,000 a day.

“Consequently, it is with great regret that we can confirm that it is our intention to proceed with plans for a phased closure of the plant.

“As previously outlined, this will mean that some areas will cease production later this month with full closure expected to take place by February 2013.

VION UK published its 2011 annual accounts the day after the plant's closure was announced.

The accounts stated the Broxburn plant made a loss of £39.6 million in the 2011 year, more than double the £14.9 million reported the previous year.

The Dutch parent group VION NV went on to announce in November 2012 its plans to sell off its UK operations.

The sell off, the group said, would allow the group to focus on its core food operations in the Netherlands and Germany and its global food ingredients business.

At the time of the sell-off announcement, VION's UK business employed around 11,500 people operating across 38 sites, including 12 premises in Scotland employing around 2,300 people.

VION UK employs around 1,000 people at a poultry processing plant in Coupar Angus; 400 at a cooked chicken plant in Cambuslang; 280 at its red meat plant in Portlethen near Aberdeen; 130 at a feed mill near Turriff, Aberdeenshire; and 50 at its UK headquarters in Livingston.

Its UK pork division was bought up in a management buyout last December led by its UK pork managing director Seamus Carr and backed by UK private equity firm Endless.

It was reported that deal would save 130 Scottish jobs or a total of around 4,000 UK jobs.

The Hall's brand was brought up in late January by Dumfriesshire-based Browns Food Group for an undisclosed sum.

Browns said the deal includes the Hall's van delivery operation, and 50 Hall's van driver jobs will transfer to Browns as part of the deal.